Are you skiing on thin ice? Make sure you're properly covered by winter sports insurance to avoid an avalanche of charges

Whether you spend your trip pottering down blue runs or carving up the mogul fields, black runs and off-piste trails, snow sports can be dangerous.

Therefore making sure you are properly covered should something go wrong is a top priority if you are planning to swap the UK's bleak, grey weather for powder brushed peaks.

Fail to take out winter sports insurance and you can easily find yourself snowed under by an avalanche of charges and bills - particularly if you have to be rescued by helicopter which can cost an eye-watering £5,000.

Extreme sports: Winter travel insurance is not just for adrenaline junkies

Snow sports can be dangerous, whether you spend your trip carving up the black runs and mogul fields, hitting the snowboard park, or pottering down the gentler slopes stopping for regular hot chocolates.

Understandably the extra risk of you launching yourself off a mountain makes insurers nervous, so often you will find a standard travel insurance policy won't coverwinter trips as well.

So before you head up into the mountains it is important that you check the small print on your policy rather than just assuming you are covered.

You might also be surprised by what is
included in the winter sports bracket - most standard policies will not
cover you for apres-ski activites like ice-skating or tobogganing.

How it works

If you are not already covered there are a huge amount of policies to choose from, ranging from standard to specialist. If you don't a specialist policy then a price comparison site is likely to be the easiest way to get the best deal, using your specific needs to bring up a list of the best buys.

DO YOU NEED SPECIALIST COVER?

Before you decide on a policy it is worth asking yourself the following questions to see if you might need specialised cover:

Do you plan on skiing off-piste? If so, will you be accompanied by a qualified instructor?

Are you planning on going on more than one ski-trip this year? You may need a multi-trip policy.

Are you heading off on a ski-season? Specialist seasonaire insurance might be your best option.

Will you be going to the ski-park, ski jumping or even heli-skiing?

Will you be competing in any races.

Are you travelling as a group or family?

Do you have any ore-existing medical conditions?

If you are already covered by an annual policy some insurers will let you bolt on extra protection to upgrade your existing policy.

Winter travel insurance does cost more than a standard policy, but it doesn't have to be bank-breaking and you should view it as a necessity rather than an afterthought, bought at the last minute.

Bob Atkinson, travel expert at Travel Supermarket, advises that you take out insurance the day you book your trip.

He explains: 'This is to ensure you have cancellation cover from day one, for medical problems or if a close member of your family falls ill or
passes away, preventing you from travelling.'

Once you have decided what level of cover you will need, your next decision will be how long you will need the cover for.

You can either opt for a 12-month policy that will cover you for multiple trips, or if you are just heading away for a week or so, you can opt for single trip insurance.

A 12-month policy will naturally cost you more, but it covers you for multiple trips (there will usually be a cap on the number of days covered though.

You need to remember that cheapest is not always best, so check what is covered and don;t just go for the lowest quote.

Remember prices will vary and you may pay more if you have any pre-existing medical conditions.

You may want to consider a family policy if you are travelling as a group or taking the whole family.

But, remember there may be restrictions on the number of adults or children covered in a family policy.

Will my EHIC card not cover me?

The
European Health Insurance Card, previously called your E111 will cover some, if
not all, of your medical costs when you are traveling withing the
European Union, plus Switzerland.

You will be treated as normal, but the country you are staying in, are
repaid for your treatment by the NHS.

It
can be useful tool, but it will not cover the costs of getting you home
in an emergency (repatriation) or mountain rescue if you have an
accident. Read more on what EHIC covers.

Fresh powder: Nine out of 10 insurers will not cover you for off-piste skiing unless you are accompanied by an instructor.

What does winter travel insurance cover?

According to Russell Dadson, director of specialist insurer Snowcard: 'Winter sports policies are an emergency expenses insurance, covering you from the point of injury or illness until repatriation'.

Most winter sports policies will cover you in much the same way as a standard travel insurance covering the costs of expensive foreign medical bills, replacing any lost baggage, getting you home and for cancelled flights.

But on top of that, they also pay out if you need to be rescued from the side of a mountain which can be extremely expensive.

Dadson explains: 'Mountain rescue could cost anywhere between £500 and £5,000 depending where you have an accident.'

On top of luggage cover it also covers the cost of replacing lost ski passes and damaged or lost equipment both hired and owned.

Dadson says it is important to check the cap on equipment payouts as many cheap policies have low limits set at around £200.

He says the average pair of intermediate skis can cost up to £600, so a low limit will still leave you with a hefty bill, particularly when you factor in the excess you will have to pay.

So, it might be worth shopping around for a policy with a higher cap on possession protection even though you will have to pay a higher premium.

They will often also reimburse you for the cost of equipment hire, ski-school fees and lift passes if you do suffer an injury during your holiday.

Plus you can get payouts for piste closures, if your holiday is disrupted by an avalanche and if you injure another person in a skiing accident.

Exclusions

Tobogganing: Make sure you check the small print as there may be exclusions on some winter activities

There
will be certain conditions attached to most policies, which you will need to be aware of.

If you are a pro, it is worth noting
that even a winter-specific insurance policy will not cover you for
everything.

If you plan on a more adventurous holiday you will need to read the small print carefully as many policies have restrictions on certain activities or won't cover them at all.

Activities such as bobsleighing, luge, heli-sking, ski-jumping will not be covered on a normal policy.

Off-piste and snow park skiing or snow boarding may be restricted or not be included at all. Both are considered relatively mainstream activities and many may stray into the park or off the marked pistes on holiday, so this is very important to check.

According to Dadson, around nine out of 10 insurers stipulate that you must be accompanied by a guide or instructor while off piste.

If you do plan on hitting some kickers, rails or half pipes, or seeking out the fresh powder by yourself - you may have to look for a specialist policy, or purchase add on protection.

Although one of the major draws of a ski trip is the apres ski it is important to be careful as the altitude will affect your alcohol tolerance. You may even find that your policy has a zero alcohol limit.

According to Atkinson: 'Drinking before taking to the slopes will possibly affect whether a
claim for medical costs will be paid.'

It is also worth clarifying when and where your ski and snowboard equipment is covered - your insurance might not pay out if you have left your skis or snowboard unattended outside a mountain restaurant.

Watch out for:

When signing up it is important to be as honest as possible, if you miss out a previous injury or misrepresent yourself in any way, you might find that your claim in invalidated.

If you have expensive kit, it is key to make sure that you have valued it properly - the blow of losing an expensive pair of skis will be doubled if you realise you have under insured them and the payout won't cover the replacement cost.

REMEMBER: Although it is important to shop around for the best price you should not take out a policy simply because it is the cheapest, when it comes to insurance it is important to make sure you have the right level of cover first.

TOP TIPS FOR CHEAPER COVER

The level of protection should always be your highest priority, particularly when it comes to medical protection, but if you do want to lower your premium there are a few tactics according to Atkinson:

Try to reduce the level of cover for baggage – check to see if your household cover can offer you protection (although any claim will remove your no claims bonus and will send your premiums up – so may be a false economy).

You can often remove cancellation cover (valid if you book your trip at the last minute – however check that you still have curtailment cover if you have to cut your trip short.

Greg Lawson, head of retail at Columbus Direct adds: 'There
are a variety of safety items that skiers and boarders should consider
when going on the slopes in addition to a helmet. These can include
standard protection such as wrist guards to protect you from fractures
or, for those who venture off-piste, avalanche airbags and snow shovels
should be considered.'

Finally you can look for policies with higher excess levels as this again reduces the premium.